"What in the world have you been doing, Christy?" asked Mrs. Passford, as her son entered the engine-room; and her anxiety was visible in her tones and looks as she spoke.
"We have been repelling boarders, mother," replied the middy, his face wreathed in smiles.
"What do you mean by that, my son?" inquired his mother.
"Well, mother, you are the daughter of a distinguished naval officer, and it seems to me you must understand what repelling boarders means," answered the young commander, laughing merrily; and no one in the engine-room could fail to see that he was in the highest state of exhilaration, now that the safety of the ship had been assured.
"Of course, I know what it means," added the lady.
"And I don't mean boarders at the hotel, whoare repelled by strong butter and tough steaks," chuckled Christy.
"I wish you would explain yourself, my son."
"I will, mother mine. The fellows we fired at when we were at anchor have just attempted to board the Bellevite, and thus obtain possession of her, as they failed to do in Mobile Bay, as well as at our anchorage in the Hudson." And he proceeded to explain in detail all that had occurred on board and alongside.
"My dear boy, I had no idea that you had been engaged in a battle!" exclaimed the fond mother.
"It wasn't much of a battle, though a good many pistol-shots were fired at us; but a sixty-pound shot did the business on our side, and we left the enemy, or a portion of them, paddling in the river, and trying to keep their heads above water. But I must not stay here, for I have to look out for the steering of the ship," continued Christy, as he moved towards the door.
"You whipped them out, did you, midshipman?" added the engineer.
"We did; and there isn't any doubt of it. I shouldn't wonder if some of them had lost the number of their mess. But I think it is settledfor the present that Captain Carboneer don't go to sea in the Bellevite. By the way, I had forgotten that we took a prisoner, and perhaps he will be willing to tell us something more about his enterprise."
"Who is the prisoner?" asked Mrs. Passford.
"He is an officer, I judge, for he wore a frock-coat."
"The party could not have had a great many officers. It was not the captain, was it?"
"No; I am sure it is not he. I think it must be the naval officer whom Captain Carboneer called Haslett; but I have not seen him except as he was shinning up the painter of the boat. You can go on deck if you like, mother and Florry, or you may come with me into the pilot-house," added Christy.
The engineer had to remain on duty, and Miss Florry mildly objected to leaving her present comfortable position on the sofa of the engine-room; but as her mother wished to go with her brother, she felt obliged to go with her.
Christy gave his mother and sister places on the sofa abaft of the wheel, and then looked into the position of the steamer. But the two quartermastershad so often steered the steamer up and down the river that they had done very well, and there was no especial need of the midshipman as a pilot. The Bellevite was not going at anything like her best speed, or at her usual rate at sea. As she was going, it was about a four-hours' run to New York, and Christy was not in a hurry to get to his destination.
"Beeks, we have a prisoner, and I should like to take his measure," said Christy to the senior quartermaster. "You may go aft and ask Sampson to bring him into the pilot-house."
"Bring him into the pilot-house," repeated the man, as he left the apartment.
"What are you going to do with your prisoner, Christy?" asked Mrs. Passford.
"I shall hand him over to the proper officers, and they can do what they please with him," replied the middy. "I don't want him: do you, mother?"
"What should I want of him?"
"Perhaps you want him, Florry?" asked Christy of his sister.
"I am sure I don't," she replied, pouting.
"Perhaps you will want him when you have seen him," added the middy roguishly.
At this moment Sampson appeared at the door of the pilot-house, conducting his prisoner, whose hands were still tied behind him. Christy did not see him at first, for he was looking at his sister; but her pretty face suddenly turned crimson, and her brother heard the sound of footsteps in the apartment.
As soon as he saw the prisoner, he started back in astonishment, though perhaps there was no particular reason to be surprised. It was not Mr. Haslett, as he had supposed, and it certainly was not Captain Carboneer. But it was Major Lindley Pierson, late commandant of Fort Gaines. Christy had not expected to meet him, and that was the only reason why he was astonished.
"Major Pierson!" exclaimed the midshipman, as soon as he had in some degree recovered from his astonishment. "I believe we have met before somewhere."
"Without a doubt we have, Captain Passford," replied the major, who no longer belonged to the Mulgate family.
"Not a captain, if you please; but I am none the less glad to see you on that account. This is really a very unexpected pleasure."
"And quite as unexpected to me, I assure you, especially to meet the ladies," added the prisoner as he bowed low to Mrs. Passford and her daughter. "I had hoped I might meet Mrs. and Miss Passford before I returned to the South."
"And you had even hoped to take one of them back with you as a passenger in the Bellevite," Christy interpolated, with great good nature.
Major Pierson looked at him with a start, and it was his turn to be astonished. He was a prisoner, but he had the privilege of wondering how Christy knew so much about his affairs.
"Captain Carboneer is a very obstinate man, and did not take kindly to the carrying of lady passengers in a man-of-war; but I think he was right, though my view may be of no consequence to you," added the young officer. "I have the highest opinion of Captain Carboneer, for he is a solid, substantial man. By the way. Major Pierson, who is he?"
"He is Captain Carboneer," replied the major discreetly.
"Perhaps he is Captain Carboneer; I don't know: things are not always what they seem, andI find that persons are not, either. Hasn't that been your experience, Mr. Mulgate—I beg your pardon, Major Pierson?"
The prisoner frowned, and gave a fierce glance at the midshipman, as though he felt like annihilating him with a look. But he evidently considered just then that he was in the presence of the ladies, and perhaps that the flash of his eagle eye would not kill his tormentor, as the young man seemed to have become.
"I am your prisoner, or somebody's prisoner, Captain Passford, and the tables are turned against me. Of course, you don't expect me to give information that will be of use to the enemies of my country."
"Of course not."
"When you were my prisoner, I think I treated you like a gentleman," added Major Pierson.
"I think you did, sir; and that reminds me that your hands are tied behind you. You were so kind as to release me from my bonds when I was in your power"—
"And it was the stupidest thing I ever did in my life," interposed the prisoner, with some bitterness.
"I am not familiar with the events of your life, and I cannot gainsay your remark."
"You did not scruple to turn our own guns against us."
"As you would have done if you had succeeded in capturing the Bellevite," added Christy, smartly. "This time makes twice that you did not capture her."
"The third time may not fail."
"It may not; but I must be as magnanimous as you were. Sampson, release the gentleman."
"Thank you, Captain Passford; that is no more than I did for you when you were in the same situation."
"But I suppose you will not undertake to capture this ship after I have done as well by you as you did by me. I intend to treat you like a gentleman, though the fortunes of war are against you. Now, perhaps you will not object to answering a question or two, in which there can be no treason."
"I must be my own judge of the questions," replied the major, rather haughtily.
"Certainly, sir; and I shall not insist upon your answering any question. Was any one on board of the Vampire killed in this affair?"
"No one was killed."
"Were any wounded?"
"I am sorry to say that three were injured by the falling of the pieces of the walking-beam."
"Seriously?"
"Two slightly, and one severely."
"Thank you, major."
"Of course, I am not informed of the fate of those in the boat when it was sunk," added the prisoner.
"I think no one was badly hurt in that part of the affair," said Christy.
"Perhaps it will be of interest to you to know that Private Passford, formerly of my command, was the one who was severely wounded on board of the Vampire."
"Corny!" exclaimed Mrs. Passford.
"I am sorry to say that he was struck on the shoulder by a fragment of the machinery," replied the major, very politely, as he bowed low to the lady.
"Poor Corny!" ejaculated Miss Florry. "Is he very badly wounded, Major Pierson?"
"I do not know how seriously, but I am afraid he cannot use that shoulder for a long time."replied the prisoner, fixing a look of admiration upon her, as if he were glad to have the privilege of looking at her without causing any remark.
"I am so sorry for him. Corny was always real good to me when I have been at Glenfield," added the fair girl, and she actually shed some sympathetic tears as she thought of his wounded shoulder. "Can we not do something for him, mother?"
"I shall be very glad to have him removed to the house, and I will take care of him till he gets well. I don't know whether this can be done or not. Perhaps Major Pierson can inform me."
"If your kind hearts prompt you to do this for one who is in arms against the government, I have no doubt it can be managed. He can give his parole, and that will make it all right."
"He is my nephew, and I would do as much for him as I would for my own son," replied Mrs. Passford heartily.
"And I as much as I would for my brother," added Miss Florry.
Everything was pleasant so far, though all the Passfords were worried about poor Corny, who had been with the ladies only the evening before.
It was six o'clock in the morning when the Bellevite let go her anchor off Twentieth Street, as the young commander decided to do after some consultation with Paul Vapoor, who was his senior in years if not in wisdom. He did not suppose the steamer would be allowed to anchor at the Navy Yard without orders to that effect. His father had not returned from the city. Though he held no office, Captain Passford was as busy with public affairs as though he had been the collector of the port.
No one but the ladies had slept any during the trip; but they had been on deck some time when the steamer anchored. Christy had been very much in doubt as to what he should do with the Bellevite when he reached his destination, and he was glad to see his mother when she came out of the cabin. Though he was still hardly more thana boy, he believed in his mother, and it had not yet occurred to him that he knew more than she did. He stated his difficulty to her, for Paul had been as much in doubt as the midshipman.
"I think it is a very easy question to answer, Christy," replied Mrs. Passford, with a smile. "Where have you anchored?"
"Off Union Square, or very near it, I should think," replied Christy.
"You know that your father stays at the St. James Hotel when he is in the city," she added. "The only thing you can do is to find him, and let him decide what is to be done with the Bellevite."
"I did not think of that," added the midshipman. "I will get out a boat at once, and go on shore."
"Florry and I will go with you," continued Mrs. Passford. "We have nothing to do here, and I should like to return to Bonnydale as soon as possible. But what will you do with your prisoner, Christy?"
"I shall do nothing with him. Sampson is in charge of him, and I am sure he will not take his eye off the major while he remains on board."
The port-quarter boat was lowered into the water, and a couple of the old sailors took their places in her. The ladies were assisted to their seats, and Christy, after he had informed the engineer that he was in command during his absence, leaped into the boat, and it was pulled to the nearest pier. A carriage was called, and the party were driven to the hotel. It was half-past six, and Christy was informed that his father had not yet come down. Word was sent up to him, and the son went to his room, where he found him only half dressed.
"I did not expect to see you at this time in the morning, my son," said the owner of the Bellevite. "How did you come down so early?"
"I came in the Bellevite; and she is at anchor in the stream off Twentieth Street, father," replied Christy.
"In the Bellevite!" exclaimed Captain Passford, with the nearest thing to a frown that ever appeared on his brow in the presence of any member of his family. "I don't quite understand how"—
"An attempt was made to capture her last night, father, and I thought it best to make sure of her," interposed the midshipman.
"To capture her!" ejaculated Captain Passford, suspending his toilet, and gazing into the face of his son. "I think you must have dreamed that, Christy."
"Perhaps I did, father; but we captured one prisoner of rank in my dream, and he is on board now, closely guarded by Sampson," replied Christy, laughing in his excitement. "Mother and Florry were on board, and they are down in the parlor waiting to see you."
"Do you mean that an attempt was really made to capture the Bellevite last night?" asked the captain, as if unable to credit the astounding intelligence.
"Of course I can prove all I say by many witnesses. Mr. Watts is on board, and he has been dreaming too if I have. Paul Vapoor is another dreamer, to say nothing of eight or ten more on board," added Christy.
Captain Passford completed dressing himself about as quick as he had probably ever done since he became a millionnaire, and attended Christy down to the parlor, where he gave his wife and daughter an affectionate reception.
"But our boy tells me that some one has beentrying to obtain possession of the Bellevite, Julia; and it seems to me hardly possible that such an attempt should be made so far up the river," said Captain Passford, as soon as he was able to allude to the subject.
"But it is quite true, Horatio; and our boy has behaved like a hero, if he is our son," replied the lady, bestowing a glance of pride upon the midshipman.
"He says he has a prisoner on board," added the captain.
"And who do you think that prisoner is, Horatio?" asked Mrs. Passford.
"Is it Jeff Davis?" he inquired, with a smile.
"Not exactly; but it is Major Lindley Pierson."
"Indeed? Then I begin to see through the matter," replied Captain Passford. "He failed to obtain the steamer in Mobile Bay, and he came up here after her. But I should like to hear the particulars of this affair."
"And poor Corny Passford was wounded in the shoulder," said Florry, who had hardly spoken before.
"You don't mean that you had a fight,Christy?" demanded the captain, looking quite serious.
"Not much of a fight, father; we fired the long gun once, and disabled an old steamer, and we sunk a boat that was trying to lay us aboard."
"Then it was a more serious affair than I had supposed."
"But, father, I think we had better be going on board; and I can tell you the story on the way just as well as here," suggested Christy.
"But you must have your breakfast before you go, for there is nothing to eat on board of the steamer," replied Captain Passford, as he led the way down into the restaurant.
While they were waiting for the meal to be served, the captain went to the house of a military officer, with whom he was intimately acquainted, and requested him to take the prisoner off his hands. After the meagre details of the affair he gave, the officer offered to put a company on board of the steamer for her protection; but the captain thought this was unnecessary.
After the breakfast, the party took a carriage for the pier. On the way the captain ordered a supply of cooked provisions to be sent down to theboat for the use of the men on board of the Bellevite. With this supply the party went on board. On the way Christy had told his story, and by the time they went on board Captain Passford had learned all about the affair.
He had received the order to deliver the steamer at the Navy Yard on the following Monday, and he decided to return to Bonnydale in her. Enough of the former members of the ship's company could be obtained in a few hours to hold the vessel against any enemy that was likely to appear in the river. As the owner was now on board, the engineer put on full steam, and she reached her anchorage, as indicated by the buoy of the cable which had been slipped. It was hauled in, and the Bellevite was replaced in her former position.
The tremendous report of the great gun in the small hours of the morning had startled all the people in the vicinity, though it was not till they left their beds that the news was conveyed to them. A party in the town just below the scene of the disaster to the Vampire had been collected, and they had taken a steamer to explore the river in search of the bold actors in the affair, as soonas the facts were known in the vicinity. The steamer had been running up and down the river since six in the morning.
When the Bellevite passed up the river, she was promptly recognized by the investigating party on board of the Alert, which followed the steamer up to her anchorage. She came alongside some time after the crew had fished up the cable; but Captain Passford warned her to keep off as soon as he discovered her intention to come alongside. She was a small steamer, and had at least twenty men on her deck, so that the captain thought it necessary to learn her object before she came any nearer.
A boat with two men was sent from the Alert, and one of them was permitted to come on board. This one proved to be Captain Mainhill, with whom the owner of the Bellevite was well acquainted. He was a wealthy and patriotic man, though rather too old to be engaged in active service for his country.
"I thought you might be representatives of the Southern Confederacy, and I was rather shy of you," said Captain Passford, as he took the hand of his neighbor. "I should not have been so cautious if I had met you last evening."
"We have been looking for the gentlemen who were engaged in this attempt to capture the Bellevite," added Captain Mainhill.
"I hope you have found them, or some of them," replied the owner.
"Only a single one of them; and he is badly wounded. We have scoured the river for miles without finding any trace of the enemy. I think they landed on the east shore, and went over to the railroad, where they probably took the first train that came along," replied Captain Mainhill.
"Of course, they saw the Bellevite going down the river, and perhaps they have gone down to New York to finish the job they begun here," suggested Captain Passford. "Do you know if the enemy lost any of their number when the boat was smashed?"
But Captain Mainhill knew nothing about the affair on the river beyond the fact that an attempt had been made to capture the Bellevite, and he had not ascertained that more than one was injured.
"We found the Vampire aground half a mile below where the shot disabled her," continued the leader of the expedition. "Her machinery wasbadly smashed. She never was good for much, and she is good for nothing now."
"Did the enemy carry off the one who was wounded?" asked Captain Passford, prompted by his wife.
"No; he seems to have been too badly damaged for that; they left him at the house of a workingman near the river, and I suppose he is there now," replied Captain Mainhill. "I don't know that there is anything more that we can do, and we may as well go home to breakfast."
"Do you know where the wounded person is to be found?" asked Captain Passford.
"I do; and I have seen him. He is suffering a good deal of pain; but he is as plucky as a mad snake, and he would not say a word in answer to my questions."
"I shall be greatly obliged to you, Captain Mainhill, if you will land me as near as you can to the house where this wounded man is, and show me where it is. Mrs. Passford will go with me," said the owner.
"Very glad indeed to do it," replied the leader of the searching party.
Captain Passford instructed some of the menon board to summon all the former ship's company of the Bellevite on board at once that could be found, and then went on board of the Alert with his wife. They were landed in a boat just below the bend, and Captain Mainhill conducted them to the house where Corny was said to be.
They found him there, and the poor fellow was glad enough to see them. No doctor had been called, and nothing had been done to alleviate his pain; but he was immediately removed to the mansion at Bonnydale, with his own consent, and Dr. Linscott was sent for.
Major Pierson still remained on board of the Bellevite, for no officer had been sent on board for him, as expected; and he was under the efficient care of Sampson. He was subjected to no restraint, and he took his breakfast with the engineer. But he was not a welcome visitor on board, and Captain Passford would have been very glad to get rid of him.
The owner sought him the next time he came on board, when he was not so busy as he had been before. But he said nothing to him about his mission at the North, and treated him as a guest rather than a prisoner. For reasons of his own, though not difficult to conjecture, he was very anxious to make a good appearance before the father of Miss Florry, and he was a gentleman in his manners.
"Major Pierson, I am sorry to do anything thatmay be unpleasant to you, but I have not the means of holding you as a prisoner," said the captain, after they had been talking of indifferent subjects for a time.
"I realize that I am a prisoner of war, subject to such restraint as my captors impose upon me," replied the major.
"If you will allow yourself to be paroled, it will settle your status for the present," added Captain Passford.
"As a guest at your house?" asked the major, his face suddenly brightening up. "I shall be very happy to give my parole."
"Not at my house, if you please, Major Pierson; it would not be convenient at the present time," replied the owner, astonished at the suggestion,
"Then you will excuse me if I decline to accept a parole," replied the prisoner, biting his lip as though he was not pleased with the reply. "As a guest in your house, I should not wish you to have any solicitude in regard to me."
"Very well, major; I cannot object to your decision," added the captain, as he touched his hat and left the prisoner to the attentions of Sampson.
He was kept on board of the Bellevite, now re-enforced by the return of about twenty of her former crew, so that regular watches were kept, and there was no chance for the prisoner to escape, and none for Captain Carboneer to capture the steamer. Dr. Linscott soon relieved Corny of his pain, but it was many weeks before he was fit to leave the house, and then he was paroled. Captain Passford could never ascertain what had become of the crew intended for the Bellevite, though it was supposed, as they separated, that they found their way to some port where they could ship for their chosen service.
On the Monday following the attempt to capture her, the Bellevite was taken to the Navy Yard, and she was prepared for service. It was understood that her former officers and crew would be appointed to her, for they were accustomed to the vessel, and could do better with her than any other. Paul Vapoor and Christy Passford had already received their commissions and orders. Captain Breaker had been restored to his former rank, and was to be the commander of the Bellevite.
It was two months before the ship was ready togo into commission. Important alterations had been made below, and the armament had been taken from her deck, substituting for it a Parrot midship piece, of eight-inch bore, and carrying a one hundred and fifty pound shot, two sixty-pounders, and two thirty-pounders. This was a heavy armament, but the ship was strong enough to bear it.
Joel Dashington and Ethan Blowitt were appointed as masters, and were to be the first and second lieutenants, while Christy Passford was the third. Leon Bolter was made a first assistant engineer, and Fred Faggs the second. Sampson obtained his place as a first-class fireman, with the expectation of soon becoming an assistant engineer, for he was well qualified for the position.
Captain Passford, though he had offered his services in any capacity in which he might be needed, had been induced to withdraw his application for the reason that he could be of more service to the cause at home than he could in the field or at sea. He was a man of influence, and he was needed in civil life. He was even able to do more as an adviser and counsellor than in any public office, though he filled several of the latter in the earlier part of the war. He furnished no inconsiderablepart of the money needed at particular times, and he was only less valuable on account of his money than he was for his patriotism and good judgment.
"Now, Christy, remember that you are an officer of the United States, and make yourself worthy of the place you occupy," said his father to Christy, on the evening of his last day at home. "Study your duty, and then perform it faithfully. Perhaps I can tell you something of more value than good advice is generally considered to be."
"I shall try to follow your good advice, father; and I mean to do my duty; and it will not be for the want of trying if I fail," replied Christy.
"You have sailed with Captain Breaker a great deal when you were in a different relation to him. Now I must warn you that he has his duty to do, and I hope you will not expect to be favored, or ask him for privileges not granted to other officers," continued the late owner of the Bellevite.
"I am sure I expect him to be impartial with his officers."
"I meant to have seen Breaker this afternoon before I came home; but I had not time to go to the ship. For some of my own affairs I have had three agents in England. I wrote them some timeago to obtain all the information they could in regard to vessels, especially steamers, that cleared for any ports of the British Possessions near the United States," continued Captain Passford, taking a letter from his pocket. "Two weeks ago an iron steamer sailed from a port in Ireland for the Bermudas. This letter will tell you all about it, and you will hand it to Captain Breaker, and give him my explanation."
The midshipman put the letter into his pocket without reading it. In his chamber he looked it over, and found that it meant business, and he was delighted with the idea of having something to do before he reached the port for which the ship was bound, for the inactivity of the blockade was not wholly to his mind. He slept as soundly as usual, for already he had come to regard war as the business in which he was engaged, and he had but little sickly sentiment over it.
It was a tearful parting with his mother and sister before he took the train with his father, and it was a sad one with his father when he went off to the Bellevite in the boat. But neither of them shed any tears, for both felt that they were called upon to discharge their duty to their country.
Captain Breaker had always trained his officers and seamen to perform their duty in conformity with the discipline of the navy so far as it was practicable to do so, and consequently his ship's company were very nearly at home from the beginning of the voyage. He had received his sealed orders, and at noon the Bellevite went down the bay on her mission to the South, though no one on board knew where the ship was bound. The crew had been re-enforced by as many men as she had usually carried, and the first day was a very busy one in putting everything in order. Christy had handed the letter his father had given him to the captain, and after dinner he spoke of it.
"Did you read this letter, Mr. Passford?" asked the captain.
"I did, sir; my father told me to read it," replied Christy.
"It appears that a very fast steamer loaded with a valuable cargo sailed from Belfast eleven days ago, clearing for the Bermudas. We shall all be very happy to pay our respects to her; but I can say nothing till I have opened my orders to-morrow," said Captain Breaker.
"If she sailed eleven days ago from Belfast, sheought to be well up with the Bermudas, if she is as fast as represented, sir," added Christy, hoping the orders would permit the Bellevite to look out for the Killbright, as she was called.
The next day, as the observations indicated the latitude in which the sealed orders were to be opened, the seal of the official envelope was broken. Captain Breaker read the letter, and a smile came over his bronzed face. The orders were evidently to his satisfaction; and Christy, who was on duty near him, remembered what his father had said to him, and asked no question, as he would have been likely to do under other circumstances. But the commander was kind enough to call his officers to him, and inform them of the duty assigned to the ship.
The government had received information which indicated the approach to our shores of a considerable fleet of blockade runners, and the Bellevite, on account of her reputed fast sailing, was to cruise for a given time off the coast in search of these blockade runners.
"I have no doubt these blockade runners will go into the Bermudas, especially the Killbright. If we go into St. George, we shall not be allowedto sail till twenty-four hours after this fast vessel leaves," said Captain Breaker. "On the other hand, if we are seen off the port, she will not come out."
"I don't see, then, that we can do anything about it, Captain Breaker," added Mr. Dashington.
"Captain Passford's correspondent thinks the Killbright is intended for the Confederate Navy, and that she is commanded by a naval officer sent out for the purpose," continued the captain.
But no satisfactory measures could be devised for overcoming the difficulties on both hands, and the steamer sped on her way. In two days more she was in sight of the Bermudas. It was almost dark when the lookout sighted a steamer coming out from the islands. By the order of the captain, the engine was stopped, and the steamer rested silently on a calm sea.
"I don't think she has seen us yet," said Captain Breaker. "If she had, she would have come about and run back into the harbor."
"She keeps on her course," added Mr. Dashington.
"If she has the reputation of being a very fastvessel, very likely she believes that she can run away from us," suggested Mr. Blowitt.
"As I don't believe the vessel floats that can outsail the Bellevite, I shall give her time to get well away from the port before the screw turns again," said the captain.
"Mr. Passford," called he a little later.
"On duty, sir," replied Christy, touching his cap to the commander.
"You will have the midship gun charged with a solid shot, and have it ready for use at once."
As the steamer in the distance still kept on her course, the screw of the Bellevite was started. The chief engineer was called upon deck, and the situation explained to him.
"We shall want all the speed we can get out of her, Mr. Vapoor," said the captain.
"We shall have no trouble in making twenty-two knots, sir, with the sea as it is now," replied the engineer.
"That steamer means to go into the Cape Fear River," said Mr. Blowitt, when the chase had laid her course. "If she was going in at Savannah, or round into the Gulf, she would go more to the south."
"I think you are right; but she has room enough to run away from us if she can," added the captain.
It was a busy time in the fireroom, but there was nothing to do on deck but watch the steamer. She had actually lighted the green light on the starboard, and evidently did not expect to be overhauled, even if her commander had noticed the presence of the Bellevite.
All the officers on board of the Bellevite who had never been in the navy had spent their long vacation in the study and practice of gunnery and naval tactics; and the men had been carefully drilled by a competent officer as soon as they reported for duty. But a considerable number of the latter had served for years on board of men-of-war, and a few were sheet-anchor men. The latter are sailors who have spent the greater part of their lives in the national sea-service, and they were competent to teach many of the junior officers.
Every day after the ship went into commission, both officers and seamen were drilled, and the captain declared that they had all made satisfactory proficiency. He was ready to meet an enemy with them; but then the ship's company of the steam-yacht were of the very best material. They were all intelligent men, and sailors to begin with, sothat the task of qualifying them for active duty was not very laborious.
Christy was even better fitted for his duties than many of the older officers, for he was not only full of enthusiasm, but he was skilful and scientific, as a rule. He neither asked nor expected any favors on account of former relations with the captain and other officers, and he was determined to make his way by merit rather than by favor. Besides, he had already been under fire, and he had an idea how it felt. Though he was as prudent and careful as circumstances might require, he had proved that he was as brave as a lion, and that shot and shell were not likely to drive him from the post of duty.
Every man was in his place at the midship gun, seventeen of them, including the powder-boy, and Christy gave the orders for loading the piece as though he had been in the navy all his life. The other guns, the broadsides, were loaded at the same time. But just now Paul Vapoor was the most important man on board, and he was rapidly making himself felt in the increasing speed of the Bellevite. Captain Breaker estimated that the steamer which had just come out of port wasall of five miles ahead. It was only seven o'clock in the early darkness of this latitude. Whether the chase was the Killbright or not, it was impossible to make out in the darkness.
If it was the Killbright, Captain Passford's correspondent wrote that she was capable of making twenty knots an hour, as she had been built more for speed than anything else, though she could hardly be a profitable commercial venture. But even accepting this speed as the difficulty to be overcome, the Bellevite would probably overhaul her in two or three hours. The engineer felt that his reputation and that of the ship were at stake, and could not think of such a thing as failure in the first actual encounter with the enemy.
"We are gaining on her without the ghost of a doubt, Mr. Passford," said Boxie, who was ready for duty at the gun.
"No doubt of that, Tom Boxie," replied the third lieutenant. "But she is taking it very coolly. She has not yet even put out her lights."
"I suppose you know why she hasn't, Mr. Passford," added the captain of the gun.
"I am sure I don't know," replied Christy. "If I was in command of that steamer, and wantedto do just what she does, I should not proceed as she does. But I am nothing but a boy."
"But you have got a long head on your shoulders, Mr. Passford, and I should like to know, if you please, what you would do."
"I would put her lights out before I winked twice."
"Right, Mr. Passford!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man. "I am glad to hear you say that. The trouble with most of the boys is, when they go to sea to fight the battles of their country, they are as reckless as young wildcats."
"I think it is possible to use proper caution without being a coward, Tom Boxie; and my father gave me a lesson on that subject not long ago."
"Eight bells, sir; and that steamer has had a good hour of running so far. I will wager my day's grub that we are two knots nearer to her than when she laid her course," added Boxie, delighted with the situation.
"I have no doubt of it. I think they are beginning to see it on board of her. There go her lights! She has not a ghost of a glow in sight; and I suppose there is going to be some monkeyingabout it, if she has ascertained that she cannot run away from us."
"Most likely, sir; but this is not a good night to play tricks, for we have a bright night and a smooth sea."
"As that steamer has such a reputation for speed, I have no doubt they put a very valuable cargo on board of her; probably she has a good supply of arms in her hold."
"So much the better for us, Mr. Passford. We don't fight for prize-money, but when a man gets to be as old as I am, a good round sum of money don't come amiss to him. But I am sorry to see that it looks like a change of weather," continued the sheet-anchor man, as he hitched up his trousers, and took a survey of the heavens.
The wind began to come from the west after it had been almost a dead calm since noon. It looked as though a heavy shower was coming up, and clouds of mist and fog swept over the ocean. The usual lookouts had been doubled, but, in spite of all precautions, the Bellevite lost sight of the chase when she could not have been more than a mile from her. But this weather was to be expected in this changeable latitude. CaptainBreaker was as perplexed as any one, however skilful, must have been in the same situation. It was impossible to know what the chase would do, though it was plain enough, since she put out her lights, that she would change her course.
It was over six hundred miles to Cape Hatteras, and she had room enough to manœuvre in any manner she pleased. The change in the weather hardly amounted to a storm, and probably it would be all over in a few hours. But the chase might turn to any point of the compass, and the Bellevite was as likely to pursue in the wrong as the right direction. But the first thing the commander ordered the chief engineer to do was to save his coal; though he held to his course, and the ship continued at a moderate speed till daylight.
As the wise ones had predicted, the shower was of brief duration. As soon as it was light enough to see, and the fog banks had been swept away, a sharp lookout was kept for the chase. If she was ahead, she had outsailed her pursuer; but Captain Breaker was sure she had not done this, for she could not have had confidence enough in her heels to adopt such a course.
"Sail, ho!" yelled a man on the cross-trees, a few minutes later.
"Where away?" called the officer of the deck.
"On the port beam, sir."
Several officers mounted the rigging to obtain a sight of the reported sail. She was at least ten miles off, and no one could make out whether or not it was the chase of the night before. The captain ordered the ship to be headed to the southward, and, after she had gone on this course an hour, there was another hail from the cross-trees.
"Sail is a steamer, sir!" reported the lookout.
With the aid of the spyglasses, a long streak of black smoke could be made out of the dark clouds that were retreating in that direction. A little later it was demonstrated that she was headed for the coast of the United States. Whether it was the chase they sought or not, she needed looking after. The course was laid in a direction to intercept the steamer, for her inky smoke indicated that she was not American.
In another hour she could be very distinctly made out, though the chase had not been so clearly made out the night before as to enable the officers to identify her. Paul Vapoor was in his elementagain, and the Bellevite was doing her best. The two vessels were approaching each other, and Boxie suggested that there would be "music" in less than an hour.
The people on board of the strange steamer must have been as much in the dark in regard to the caliber of the naval vessel as those on board of the Bellevite were in respect to their confident rival. The chase was a long craft, it could be seen now, with two masts and two smokestacks, all of which raked in the most dashing style. She was rather low in the water, and, if it had been in the days of the pirates, the stranger would have been a fair ideal of the freebooter's ship.
"She keeps on just as though she intended to mind her own business, and leave the Bellevite to do the same," said Boxie, as Christy took his place near the midship gun.
"I have no doubt the Bellevite knows her business in this case, and that she will attend to it in due time," added the lieutenant.
"Good!" exclaimed the sheet-anchor man, suddenly.
This exclamation was called forth by a flag, which was run up at the peak, and which provedto be that of the Confederacy as soon as it was spread out to the breeze.
"She is plucky, anyhow," added Christy.
"There is no lack of pluck in the South. But I wonder what she means by setting that rag."
"Beeks, hoist the ensign at the peak," said the captain, and the brilliant banner was spread in the morning air.
"I reckon both sides understand the situation now. I don't know the captain of that craft, but he is an able fellow, and probably got his education in the old navy, and not in the new one, where he is serving now," continued Boxie.
"I think it is easy enough to see what he means," replied Christy. "He ascertained last night that, fast as his vessel is, he cannot outsail the Bellevite; and there is really only one thing he can do, and that is to fight."
The lieutenant had hardly spoken the words before there was a puff of smoke from one side of the chase, and a heavy report came across the water. But the two steamers were still a long distance apart, and the shot fell short, to the satisfaction of the captain. The chase had been obliged to come to in order to bring her gun tobear, and she had lost a little time in doing so. It could be easily seen on board of both steamers that the Bellevite was gaining rapidly on the other.
"Mr. Passford, I am as sure of capturing that vessel as though I had her now, and I do not wish to injure her any more than is necessary," said Captain Breaker, as he sighted the Parrot, and devoted especial attention to her. "She is a very fast steamer, and she will be very valuable in our navy in picking up just such vessels as she is herself."
Perhaps it was impudence for him to do so, but Christy could not help casting his eye along the gun. All possible precautions were taken to secure a correct aim, and then the lieutenant gave the order to "Fire!"
"Hit her, sir!" shouted one of the lookout men aloft, who could see over the cloud of smoke.
"Where did it strike her?" demanded the captain.
"Right in the broadside, abreast of the forward smokestack, sir! She has stopped her screw!" added the lookout.
"Mr. Dashington, get the ship astern of thechase at once," continued the captain to the first lieutenant.
This was the work of at least half an hour; but the Bellevite was running for the stern of the other steamer, as though she intended to cut her in two lengthwise. The chase lay helpless on the water, unable to bring her broadside guns to bear on her enemy.